Writing Guidelines

Recipe for a Winning Be You. Be Great. Submission

A Be You. Be Great. story is a true, inspirational story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences. It can be a story that opens the heart and rekindles the spirit, or a simple piece that touches our members and helps them discover basic ideals they can use in their own lives. These stories are personal and often filled with emotion, passion and drama. They are filled with meaningful images created by using our five senses that make the readers feel that they are actually in the scene with the people, which is what we would like to achieve in each and every story.

Be You. Be Great. stories are written in the first person and have a beginning, middle and an end. The stories often close with a punch, creating emotion, rather than simply talking about it. Be You. Be Great. stories have heart, but also something extra – the secret ingredient that makes us all feel more hopeful, more connected, thankful and impassioned about our relationships with others. A good story causes tears, laughter, goose bumps or any combination of these.

The most powerful stories are about people extending themselves and are motivating by nature.

If we publish your story, you will be paid $50 Australian dollars one month after publication of the book and you will receive two free copies of the book your story appears in. You will also become part of the Be You. Be Great. family and a pioneer of the Be You. Be Great. revolution.

Guidelines for a Be You. Be Great. Story:

  1. Your story must be true. Please no fiction.
  2. Tell an exciting, heartwarming or funny story about something that has happened to you or someone you know. Your story should be written in the first person and should be about yourself or someone close to you.
  3. Tell your story in a way that will “Wow” the reader or create real emotion.
  4. The story should start “in the action” and draw in the reader. Do not start your story with an introduction or end with a concluding paragraph about what you just said.
  5. Speak from the heart. Many people tell personal stories for the first time and they find it to be a moving and exhilarating experience. By all means use a fake name for your story if you do not want to use your real name.
  6. Try to keep your story to 1500 words or less.

What a Be You. Be Great. Story IS NOT:

  1. An “as told to” story written by you for someone else. You may ghost-write a story for someone, we thank you for helping that person share his or her story. But, that person’s name will be listed as the author and he or she can acknowledge your help in the bio section.
  2. A School assignment or College thesis, or a letter.
  3. A newspaper article about someone else that’s told journalistically.
  4. A biography or testimonial.
  5. About politics, religion or controversial issues.
  6. A sermon, an essay or eulogy.

A Few More Tips about Submitting Your Story

  1. The only way to submit your stories to us is via our website. If you have any problems when trying to fill out the form and submit your work, please contact our admin team at admin@beyoubegreat.com.au who’ll be happy to help.
    2. Our admin team cannot help you with your personal computer problems. If you have questions, such as, “How do I paste my story into the submission form?” please ask a friend or relative.
    3. Please submit only stories that have not been previously published. The only exception to this is if your work has only been published in a small local publication with limited circulation or on your own blog.
    4. Please do not send us any book manuscripts, unless through a literary agent, as these will be automatically discarded.

What Happens after I Submit My Story?

How will you know if your story is selected? We do not send rejections and we only occasionally save a submission for consideration for a future edition. In general, if you have not heard from us 60 days before the book’s on-sale date, that probably means we have decided not to use your story. We get many submissions for each of our books and we only have room for about 50 stories, so please don’t let it put you off.
It can take months or even years for a Be You. Be Great. book to be completed. Please be patient, as the selection of stories is a time-consuming process. Please do not contact us to ask for an update about your story unless you need to know whether we are considering it because another publisher is interested in it too.

If we choose your story for a future edition of Be You. Be Great. or any of our other projects, we will notify you by e-mail and request your permission to print it. We never publish anything without written permission from the author, and we get your approval for the inspirational quote that we will put at the top of each story and also for any edits we make.

Submit your story now